Jake Blauvelt: 2010 Rider of the Year #08

It’s no exaggeration that Blauvelt’s fluidity in the alpine is comparable to his European colleague Nicolas Müller, and the legend is growing. With the desire to simply pat down what he punts off of, he might even be on his way to outdoing his mentor. As the forefather of natural freestyle Big-Mountain Jeremy Jones put it, “Reminds me of watching Terje freeride.” Huh… How ’bout that? Maybe the student has become the teacher. Either way, Blauvelt is at the head of the class.

COMEBACK COUNTRY

While using the word “comeback” with regard to Blauvelt’s winter is about as sensible as a blind stripper with no hands, we need not explain that we are talking about his injury. When Jake went down in Cooke City, Montana and separated his shoulder, most people thought he would call it. Instead, Jake silenced all skeptics by filming a full part in less than half a winter—a part that Freddie Kalbermatten described as “Solid. Natural-terrain riding mixed up with big tricks and double corks in pow,” proving that once again, Blauvelt is a beast and his presence on this list is more than justifiable.